HIS county or his career? That was the choice that faced Armagh defender Shea Heffron as he weighed up doing final exams at Queen's against being a part of the Orchard county football squad next year.
As he says himself: “Football isn’t going to pay the bills” and so, with a heavy heart, the talented Clann Eireann defender has withdrawn from the Armagh squad to concentrate on passing his Actuarial Science exams in 2018.
“I had a choice to make and I felt that if I was going to commit (to Armagh) this year I would be sacrificing one for the other,” Heffron explained.
“This is the final year now and it’s the business end of it with exams coming up. I wish that I could commit to the football, I’ll still be playing for Queen’s, but you need to make priorities at certain stages in your life and football isn’t going to pay the bills.”
The time commitment required to play inter-county football now is huge. To be part of the Armagh squad entails training “four or five times a week” but that isn’t the full story.
“It’s not necessarily the frequency of the training – a session could be a hour and-a-half - there’s a lot of focus on recovery and what you do outside of your standard training sessions,” Heffron explained.
“That’s what I’ve learned under Kieran (McGeeney’s) guidance – to make it at county level you have to commit more than just the standard four or five sessions a week and that where I wouldn’t want to compromise. I wouldn’t be able to commit to that this year and so I’ve taken the decision to leave the panel.”
Is the commitment too much?
“It’s a very subjective question,” Heffron replies.
“It depends on where you’re working, what you’re studying and a lot of other variables. For some people it works and it suits their lifestyle but that’s up to them, this year it would be too much for me.”
Of course, there is a flip side to the coin and Heffron admits he will miss the camaraderie in the Orchard county dressingroom.
“People get sucked in over the whole issue of success,” he said.
“If your team hasn’t been successful people think it’s a waste of time. But the whole thing about county football and GAA in general is that there’s lots to be said for the team spirit and the friendships you create. I’ll miss the team spirit with the lads in Armagh this year because they are a great bunch.”
Heffron played the 2017 Dr McKenna Cup for Queens before lining out for Armagh in the National Football League. However, his season was ruined by injury just before the Ulster Championship.
“I broke my wrist just before the Down game,” he explained.
“I was working in Dublin last year and the traveling and the injuries made it difficult to push on last year but I definitely learned a lot about the standard of football that is required and the dedication and commitment that’s required to make it at that level.”
This time next year he’ll hope to have passed his exams and be in a position to give the Orchard county his full commitment.
“I don’t think Armagh has seen anything near the best of me yet and there’s a lot more to come all being well,” he said.
“You could see last year that there’s a lot of potential and there’s a lot of young players coming through. Armagh are without a few this year but, down the line, I think there is potential for success there.
“Last year we were unlucky but there’s tough competition in the League this year and, on the basis of last year, nothing is a given. We need good performances to get out of that League but we’re well capable of pushing up into Division Two next year.
“I think, with the calibre of players in the Armagh squad, that team can push up into the upper echelons of the second division and even up into the first division.”
